National Audit Office finds £415m overspend as more children travel farther to schools that meet their needsHome-to-school transport costs in England have risen to £2.3bn a year, as increasing numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities travel farther afield to schools that can meet their requirements, according to a report.More than half a million children and young people up to the age of 25 now get council-funded transport from their home to school or college, triggering a £415m overspend by local authorities last year, the National Audit Office (NAO) found. Continue reading...
Friday 31 October 2025
.theguardian - 11 hours ago
Soaring costs trigger calls to address transport for Send pupils in England
Latest News
Madrid regional government co-funding Woody Allen’s new film – but it must feature ‘Madrid’ in the title
- .theguardian Stephen King’s son among writers boycotting British Library event in solidarity with striking workers
- .theguardian The best toys and gifts for one-year-olds: 25 fun, skill-building ideas, chosen by toddlers (and parents)
- .theguardian How young people can use their online gaming skills to fight cybercrime – and what parents can do to help them
- .theguardian ‘You can be an ethical hacker, not a criminal one’: the initiative guiding young gamers into cybersecurity
- .theguardian ‘Every hacker I’ve met is a gamer’: why the next generation of tech talent could be found in unlikely places
- .theguardian I was led down the wrong path into cybercrime as a teenager. Here’s what I would tell my younger self
- .theguardian Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger’s Drift review – TV detective adaptation is occasionally lethal
- .theguardian Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers: ‘We don’t want to be the biggest band in the world. It’s just fun playing with our besties’
- .theguardian Australian governments ‘turning their backs’ on soaring Indigenous incarceration, former minister says
- .theguardian ‘I’ve learned to separate myself from this job’: The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra on fan abuse, Henry Cavill and saying goodbye to the show
- .theguardian ‘The money machine is misfiring’: City blames Brexit for UK’s £20bn productivity headache
- .theguardian ‘This doesn’t feel like justice’: mother of Jaysley Beck accuses army of empty promises
- .theguardian Ex-British sergeant major sentenced to six months for sexually assaulting soldier who went on to kill herself
- .theguardian The Railway Children review – Turnage reimagines classic story in a lively family opera
- .theguardian ‘I’d barely kissed a boy, but was making out with Adonis’: Claire Danes on sex, spy camp and teen stardom
- .theguardian Where does a western chemical plant that contaminated drinking water go next? To India
- .theguardian Now the Firm has issued Andrew his P45, a nation wonders: who ll be next? | Marina Hyde
- .theguardian Worries about immigration are ‘manufactured panic’ says charity as poll shows issue not a local concern – UK politics live
- .theguardian T20 international: Mitch Marsh hits quick-fire 46 as Australia beat India by four wickets
- .theguardian Joburg Ballet: Communion of Light review – pointe-shoe prettiness and mad, itching murder
- .theguardian Add to playlist: the long-lost lo-fi pop of Australian nun Sister Irene O’Connor and the week’s best tracks
- .theguardian Cancer, lung disease, miscarriages: are Uruguay’s rice workers paying too high a price to bring in the crop?
- .theguardian The crescendo of pre-budget lobbying has rarely been so loud. Rachel Reeves must tune it out | Polly Toynbee
- .theguardian ‘We must protect and we must understand’: using shipwrecks to rebuild fishing populations
- .theguardian ‘He’s a true legend’: what now for Frankie Dettori as racing’s biggest name leaves the stage?
- .theguardian Digested week: Sometimes it feels the clocks do nothing else but go back | Lucy Mangan
- .theguardian Trump calls for Senate to scrap filibuster in order to force end to month-long government shutdown – US politics live
- .theguardian Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire announce separation – but band will continue
- .theguardian Vu Mông Lung qua đời dưới Trăng Máu rạng sáng 9/9? Nhà thông linh Trung Quốc: Vu có thể đã bị hại vì một ‘hợp đồng’! Giới giải trí gần đây ngày càng quỷ dị
- dkn Kristian Clarke replaces injured Matt Henry in New Zealand squad for third ODI against England
- newzealandnews Giọng của Phàm Thế Kỳ trùng khớp trong video tra tấn! Ty William được Chính Thần bảo hộ đã trở lại! Đỗ Cường sang Đài Loan phẫu thuật thẩm mỹ bị vây bắt!
- dkn Trump is toying with a third term. Don’t expect the constitution to stop him | Moira Donegan
- .theguardian Horror movies have an ableism problem. Isn’t it time we found new ‘monsters’? | Kathryn Bromwich
- .theguardian Hình ảnh “Hội nghị Trump-Tập” bị rò rỉ: Tập Cận Bình hiếm khi đọc văn bản có phông chữ siêu lớn
- dkn Cổ phiếu A-shares đồng loạt giảm! Giới tài chính: Kết quả hội nghị Trump-Tập không như kỳ vọng
- dkn Ukraine reports fresh Russian attacks amid reports Moscow used ‘secret’ missile in recent months – Europe live
- .theguardian Vượt qua sự phong tỏa của ĐCSTQ, người hâm mộ Vu Mông Lung dùng chiêu độc để lên tiếng cho anh
- dkn The nature extinction crisis is mirrored by one in our own bodies. Both have huge implications for health
- .theguardian Robot hút bụi sản xuất tại Trung Quốc thu thập dữ liệu cá nhân gây lo ngại về an ninh tại Hàn Quốc
- dkn Vụ cướp trang sức tại bảo tàng Louvre: Thêm 5 người bị bắt, các chi tiết quan trọng được tiết lộ
- dkn Alpha Maid: Is This a Queue review – Mica Levi collaborator pairs scuffed production with superb songwriting
- .theguardian Snocaps: Snocaps review – Katie and Allison Crutchfield reunite with a little help from MJ Lenderman
- .theguardian Country diary: A hellish fungus, foul of stench and spindly of finger | Charlie Elder
- .theguardian UK housing market ‘resilient’ in O Asian stocks mixed after bumper tech earnings – business live
- .theguardian Having a ball-player is important but England also need a bit of beef, and that’s Freeman | Ugo Monye
- .theguardian Standing on their own: Cricket World Cup highlights drive to reclaim public space for Indian women | Emma John
- .theguardian
‘Dangerously outdated’: high court overturns ruling implying domestic violence would not affect children
- .theguardianJimmy Carr’s Am I the A**hole? review – the idea for this comedy panel show is one of TV’s laziest
- .theguardianAt least 174 racehorses died from racing or training injuries in past 12 months in Australia, report finds
- .theguardianPhysical: Asia review – some of these super-strong contestants look like barrels wrapped in muscles and hair
- .theguardian‘We want people to get lost!’ Princeton’s new museum survives scandal to deliver a mazey art ambush
- .theguardianUK reportedly faces more than £20bn hit from steeper productivity downgrade, fuelling tax rise speculation – business live
- .theguardian‘A good moment in time for us’: Firefox head on AI browsers and what’s next for the web
- .theguardianYes, Keir Starmer is Britain’s most unpopular PM ever. That could liberate him | Polly Toynbee
- .theguardianKicking back in Catalonia: a new eco-retreat in Spain with yoga, ebikes and volcano hikes
- .theguardian‘A medical miracle’: is period blood ‘the most overlooked opportunity’ in women’s health?
- .theguardianSome of the earliest written notes in western musical history discovered in Pennsylvania
- .theguardian
Ukraine war briefing: British ex-soldier arrested in Kyiv and accused of spying for Russia
- .theguardian Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream review – alt-rock survivor surveys her kingdom with swagger
- .theguardian Paint me cool: scientists reveal roof coating that can reduce surface temperatures up to 6C on hot days
- .theguardian They were 30 runs short : Jemimah Rodrigues following India s historic run chase against Australia in Women s CWC semi-final
- newzealandnews Keir Starmer often strident in opposition struggles to maintain probity in government
- .theguardian ‘You got some pants on, officer?’: video from Detroit virtual court hearing goes viral
- .theguardian The Guardian view on deprived neighbourhoods: incomes as well as places need a boost | Editorial
- .theguardian The Guardian view on Trump and China: stepping back from the brink, but not solving problems | Editorial
- .theguardian Four feet higher and rising: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia becomes world’s tallest church
- .theguardian Walton: Cello Concerto, Symphony No 1, Scapino album review – positively snaps, crackles and pops
- .theguardian Want to know what’s really up with Britain? Take a look at our no-longer-chocolatey biscuits | Zoe Williams
- .theguardian A former Tory councillor tried to ban my novel Pigeon English. Why should pupils suffer because of him?
- .theguardian Rung chuyển Trung Nam Hải: ‘Hồng hậu đại’ tố Vương Tiểu Hồng! Vụ Vu Mông Lung, người chết không ít! Điện thoại không sim, Vu nhận lệnh qua WeChat!
- dkn ‘It’s dark in the US right now. But I turn on a light, you know?’: Mavis Staples on Prince, Martin Luther King and her 75-year singing career
- .theguardian Wood, Ferdinands, Kandamby and Wijetunge to work with SL s men s team tour-by-tour, rotational basis
- newzealandnews Lebanese president orders army to confront Israeli soldiers after municipal worker killed in raid
- .theguardian Doctor Who lives on! But who will be the new Time Lord – and is it goodbye to Russell T Davies?
- .theguardian No 10 refuses to say it has seen evidence to show Reeves did not break ministerial code
- .theguardian How do I break up with a kind and generous man who leaves me feeling cold and irritated? | Leading questions
- .theguardian ‘Tom Cruise was not happy’: Colin Farrell was so drunk on Minority Report he needed 46 takes for a single line
- .theguardian Warming whites? Break away from the ice bucket this winter | Hannah Crosbie on drinks
- .theguardian Sources